Heat conducting module

ABSTRACT

A heat conducting module includes a main body. The main body includes a first surface and a second surface. The first surface is thermally connected to a heat absorbing body. The second surface is opposite to the first surface and is fluidly connected to a channel. The second surface has a plurality of grooves disposed along a direction. The channel allows a fluid to flow a long the direction. Each of the grooves includes a first sub-groove and at least one second sub-groove. The first sub-groove at least has a third surface close to the first surface. The first sub-groove at least partially communicates with the second sub-groove, and the second sub-groove is at least partially fluidly connected with the third surface.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Taiwanese Application Serial Number104128468, filed Aug. 28, 2015, which is herein incorporated byreference,

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a heat conducting module. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to a heat conducting modulewith sub-grooves.

Description of Related Art

With advancements in technology, the market has been flooded with avariety of electronic products. Moreover, in order to satisfy consumerdemand related to increasingly higher requirements, in addition tobecoming smaller in size, many electronic products are becoming more andmore efficient.

However, during the operation of electronic products with a highefficiency, the electronic elements inside the electronic products areprone to produce a large amount of heat. Such a large amount of heat caneasily cause a reduction in the operating efficiency of the electronicproducts, and may even lead to damage of the electronic products due tooverheating. As a result ways in which to remove heat from a small areain order to maintain the operating efficiency of the electronic productsand to extend the working life of the electronic products areundoubtedly an important area of research and development in theindustry.

SUMMARY

A technical aspect of the present disclosure provides a heat conductingmodule which can effectively reduce the membrane thickness of a liquidmembrane in a first sub-groove, so as to correspondingly increase theconducting efficiency of a heat conducting module.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a heat conductingmodule includes a main body. The main body includes a first surface anda second surface. The first surface is thermally connected to a heatabsorbing body. The second surface is opposite to the first surface andis fluidly connected to a channel. The second surface has a plurality ofgrooves disposed along a direction. The channel allows a fluid to flowalong the direction. Each of the grooves includes a first sub-groove andat least one second sub-groove. The first sub-groove at least has athird surface close to the first surface. The first sub-groove at leastpartially communicates with the second sub-groove, and the secondsub-groove is at least partially fluidly connected with the thirdsurface.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the main bodyincludes a heat conducting material.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a hydraulicdiameter of the second sub-groove is smaller than a hydraulic diameterof the first sub-groove.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the secondsub-groove has at least one fourth surface and a side surface. Thefourth surface is close to the first surface. The side surface isdistanced from the first sub-groove, The side surface and the fourthsurface form an angle therebetween.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the angle issubstantially a right angle.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first width ofthe fourth surface is in a range from 10 μm to 1000 μm.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, second width ofthe third surface is in a range from 10 μm to 1000 μm.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the firstsub-groove has a first length. The second sub-groove has a secondlength. The ratio of the second length to the first length is in a rangefrom 20% to 80%.

When compared with the prior art, the above-mentioned embodiments of thepresent disclosure have at least the following advantages:

(1) Since the second sub-groove can produce a larger surface tensionthan the first sub-groove, the liquid membrane in the first sub-groovecan be at least partially drawn into the second sub-groove.Consequently, the membrane thickness of the liquid membrane in the firstsub-groove can be effectively reduced, and the heat of the other partsof the fluid flowing in the first sub-groove can be more easilyconducted to the third surface. As a result the conducting efficiency ofthe heat conducting module can be correspondingly increased.

(2) Since the side surface and the fourth surface of the secondsub-groove form an angle therebetween, the liquid membrane in the firstgroove is more likely to be drawn into the second sub-groove. This canfurther facilitate a reduction in the membrane thickness of the liquidmembrane in the first sub-groove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the followingdetailed description of the embodiments, with reference made to theaccompanying drawings as follows:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the application of a heat conductingmodule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the heat conducting module of FIG. 1 takenalong line M-M;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a heat conducting module according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a heat conducting module according to afurther embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Drawings will be used below to disclose embodiments of the presentdisclosure. For the sake of clear illustration, many practical detailswill be explained together in the description below. However, it isappreciated that the practical details should not be used to limit theclaimed scope. In other words, in some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the practical details are not essential. Moreover, for thesake of drawing simplification, some customary structures and elementsin the drawings will be schematically shown in a simplified way.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the description to refer to the same or like parts.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It willbe further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and thepresent disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized oroverly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Reference is made first to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagramof the application of a heat conducting module 100 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of theheat conducting module 100 of FIG. 1 taken along line M-M. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the heat conducting module 100 includes a main body 110.The main body 110 includes a first surface 111 and a second surface 112.The first surface 111 is thermally connected to a heat absorbing body200. The second surface 112 is opposite to the first surface 111 and isfluidly connected to a channel 300. The second surface 112 has aplurality of grooves 113 disposed along a direction X. The channel 300allows a fluid F to flow along the direction X. Each of the grooves 113includes a first sub-groove 1131 and at least one second sub-groove1132. The first su b-groove 1131 at least has a third surface 1131 aclose to the first surface 111. The first sub-groove 1131 at leastpartially communicates with the second sub-groove 1132, and the secondsub-groove 1132 is at least partially fluidly connected with the thirdsurface 1131 a.

In practical applications, the fluid F carrying heat flows through thechannel 300 along the direction X. A part of the heat of the fluid Fconducts to the second surface 112 of the main body 110 through themechanism of heat conduction. The part of the heat conducted to thesecond surface 112 is conducted to the first surface 111 through themain body 110, and is then conducted to the heat absorbing body 200. Inorder to achieve a better conduction effect of the main body 110, themain body 110 includes a heat conducting material, i.e., a material witha high coefficient of heat conduction, such as copper, aluminum,silicon, etc. However, this choice of heat conducting material is notintended to limit the present disclosure.

As mentioned above, the second surface 112 has a plurality of grooves113 disposed along the direction X. Therefore, when the fluid F carryingthe heat flows through the channel 300 in the direction X, a part of thefluid F carrying the heat will flow in the grooves 113 along thedirection X. In this way, the area of the contact surface between themain body 110 and the fluid F is increased, such that a part of the heatof the fluid F can be conducted to the main body 110 through themechanism of heat conduction in a more efficient way. In thisembodiment, the number of the grooves 113 is fifteen. However, thisnumber of the grooves 113 is not intended to limit the presentdisclosure.

In addition and in greater detail, the first sub-groove 1131 of each ofthe grooves 113 at least has the third surface 1131 a. Therefore, a partof the heat of the fluid F flowing in the grooves 113 along thedirection X conducts to the third surface 1131 a of the main body 110through the mechanism of heat conduction. The part of the heat conductedto the third surface 1131 a is conducted to the first surface 111through the main body 110, and is then conducted to the heat absorbingbody 200. Since the third surface 1131 a is closer to the first surface111 than the second surface 112 to the first surface 111, the part ofthe heat conducted to the third surface 1131 a can be conducted to thefirst surface 111 through the mechanism of heat conduction in a moreefficient way. In this embodiment, a second width W2 of the thirdsurface 1131 a is in a range from 10 μm to 1000 μm. However, this rangeof the second width W2 is not intended to limit the present disclosure.

In practical applications, since the flow of the fluid F in the grooves113 along the direction X is affected by the friction of the thirdsurfaces 1131 a, a liquid membrane LM is easily formed on each of thethird surfaces 1131 a. Moreover, due to the friction of the thirdsurfaces 1131 a, the flowing speed of the liquid membrane LM is slowerthan other parts of the fluid F flowing in the grooves 113. Furthermore,since the liquid membrane LM provides isolation between the fluid Fflowing in the grooves 113 and the third surface 1131 a, the heat of theother parts of the fluid F flowing in the grooves 113 has to passthrough the liquid membrane LM in order to be conducted to the thirdsurface 1131 a.

As mentioned above and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first sub-groove1131 at least partially communicates with the second sub-groove 1132,and the second sub-groove 1132 is at least partially fluidly connectedwith the third surface 1131 a. In addition, a hydraulic diameter of thesecond sub-groove 1132 is smaller than a hydraulic diameter of the firstsub-groove 1131. Theoretically, a hydraulic diameter is a diametertransformed from a non-circular pipe equivalently to a circular pipe. Asmaller hydraulic diameter generates a larger surface tension to thefluid flowing therein. In other words, the second sub-groove 1132 canproduce a larger surface tension than the first sub-groove 1131. Hence,the liquid membrane LM in the first sub-groove 1131 as mentioned abovecan be at least partially drawn into the second sub-groove 1132.Consequently, a membrane thickness TK of the liquid membrane LM in thefirst sub-groove 1131 can be effectively reduced, and the heat of theother parts of the fluid F flowing in the first sub-groove 1131 can bemore easily conducted to the third surface 1131 a. As a result, theconducting efficiency of the heat conducting module 100 can becorrespondingly increased.

Reference is made now to FIGS. 3 and 3A. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of aheat conducting module 100 according to another embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 3. Asshown in FIGS. 3 and 3A, the second sub-groove 1132 has at least onefourth surface 1132 a and a side surface 1132 b. The fourth surface 1132a is close to the first surface 111. The side surface 1132 b isdistanced from the first sub-groove 1131. The side surface 1132 b andthe fourth surface 1132 a form an angle θ therebetween. Theoretically,the angle θ can further increase the surface tension produced to thefluid F. As a result, the liquid membrane LM in the first groove 1131 ismore likely to be drawn into the second sub-groove 1132. This canfurther facilitate a reduction in the membrane thickness TK of theliquid membrane LM in the first sub-groove 1131. In this embodiment, theangle θ is substantially a right angle, i.e., 90°. A first width W1 ofthe fourth surface 1132 a is in a range from 10 μm to 1000 μm. However,this range of the first width W1 is not intended to limit the presentdisclosure.

Structurally speaking, the first sub-groove 1131 has a first length L1.The second sub-groove 1132 has a second length L2. The ratio of thesecond length L2 to the first length L1 is in a range from 20% to 80%.For example, the first length L1 can be 2.6 cm, and the second length L2can be 1.25 cm, such that the ratio of the second length L2 to the firstlength L1 is about 48%.

Reference is made next to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a heatconducting module 100 according to a further embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the number of the second sub-groove 1132is two. The two second sub-grooves 1132 are respectively disposed at twoopposite sides of the first sub-groove 1131, further facilitating thedrawing of the liquid membrane LM formed in the first sub-groove 1131into the second sub-grooves 1132. This can further facilitate areduction in the membrane thickness TK of the liquid membrane LM in thefirst sub-groove 1131, and moreover, the heat of the other parts of thefluid F flowing in the first sub-groove 1131 can be more easilyconducted to the third surface 1131 a. As a result, the conductingefficiency of the heat conducting module 100 can be correspondinglyincreased.

In conclusion, when compared with the prior art, the embodiments of thepresent disclosure mentioned above have at least the followingadvantages;

(1) Since the second sub-groove can produce a larger surface tensionthan the first sub-groove, the liquid membrane in the first sub-groovecan be at least partially drawn into the second sub-groove.Consequently, the membrane thickness of the liquid membrane in the firstsub-groove can be effectively reduced, and the heat of the other partsof the fluid flowing in the first sub-groove can be more easilyconducted to the third surface. As a result, the conducting efficiencyof the heat conducting module can be correspondingly increased.

(2) Since the side surface and the fourth surface of the secondsub-groove form an angle therebetween, the liquid membrane in the firstgroove is more likely to be drawn into the second sub-groove. This canfurther facilitate a reduction in the membrane thickness of the liquidmembrane in the first sub-groove.

Although the present disclosure has been described in considerabledetail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodimentsare possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claimsshould not be limited to the description of the embodiments containedherein.

It will be apparent to the person having ordinary skill in the art thatvarious modifications and variations can be made to the structure of thepresent disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of thepresent disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that thepresent disclosure cover modifications and variations of the presentdisclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A heat conducting module, comprising: a mainbody, comprising: a first surface thermally connected to a heatabsorbing body; and a second surface opposite to the first surface andfluidly connected to a channel, the second surface having a plurality ofgrooves disposed along a direction, the channel allowing a fluid to flowalong the direction, each of the grooves comprising: a first sub-grooveat least having a third surface close to the first surface; and at leastone second sub-groove, wherein the first sub-groove at least partiallycommunicates with the second sub-groove, and the second sub-groove is atleast partially fluidly connected with the third surface.
 2. The heatconducting module of claim 1, wherein the main body comprises a heatconducting material.
 3. The heat conducting module of claim 1, wherein ahydraulic diameter of the second sub-groove is smaller than a hydraulicdiameter of the first sub-groove.
 4. The heat conducting module of claim1, wherein the second sub-groove has at least one fourth surface and aside surface, the fourth surface is close to the first surface, the sidesurface is distanced from the first sub-groove, and the side surface andthe fourth surface form an angle therebetween.
 5. The heat conductingmodule claim 4, wherein the angle is substantially a right angle.
 6. Theheat conducting module of claim 4, wherein a first width of the fourthsurface is in a range from 10 μm to 1000 μm.
 7. The heat conductingmodule of claim 1, wherein a second width of the third surface is in arange from 10 μm to 1000 μm.
 8. The heat conducting module of claim 1,wherein the first sub-groove has a first length, the second sub-groovehas a second length, and the ratio of the second length to the firstlength is in a range from 20% to 80%.